Here and Now
by Hakhin
Summary: He has never felt so close to her before like he does in this moment. Clint/Natasha


**A/N: **Wow! I was so amazed with the response I got from that first Clint/Natasha fanfic I wrote that I couldn't help it but write another. :) . I suppose I'm just a sappy romantic fool that just can't seem to get these two out of my head. Hopefully, they aren't tooooo out of character.

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Her lullaby sooths him in ways he will never be able to comprehend.

It's a sound that'll be in his dreams forever and from now on a whisper that'll always be on replay at the back of his mind. It's something that touches deep inside his soul and intertwines with every fibre of his being. It's the thing that overwhelms him with so much warmth and love that suddenly he wonders how he's made it this far without the sound of her lullaby.

He wants to say something, to tell her that she's beautiful and to tell her how much he loves her right now in this moment. He wants to promise her that he'll always make sure that they're okay, because they have this and this is the only thing that'll ever be worth fighting for. But he doesn't say anything, he only listens because right now, her lullaby fills the room and as much as he wants to say something, he can't bring himself to silence her.

He looks to where she is sitting or rather more half lying on the bed, arms prepped up singing her lullaby. It hits him like a tidal wave when he realizes that he's falling in love with her all over again. It's like noticing for the very first time that she isn't like this with anybody else. That she isn't unguarded and completely, utterly vulnerable like she is here and now, with him and only him. She's so human in this moment that he forgets entirely that they're trained assassins and spies that could probably take down an entire army from the inside out with a week preparation and 2 days of actually carrying the mission out. He forgets that he's shot more men between the eyes than he could possibly count. He forgets that she has in many occasions since the day he met her to the day he married her and to even this day that she's used her body to lure men in only to slowly kill them later on.

But he also forgets that he's Hawkeye and that she's the Black Widow. He forgets that they are a part of the Avenger's too. He forgets about Tony, the man who saw straight through their 'just friend's cover when they had first defeated Loki. He forgets about Pepper, the only woman he has ever known to be patient enough to love a man like Tony. He forgets about Thor and his thunderous, godly nature and also his strange likings to PopTarts too. He forgets about Steve and how once he was actually jealous of the guy because he flirted with Natasha, not knowing that she was already secretly in a relationship and married too. He forgets about Bruce, the completely down to earth man that was a complete contrast to his other greener guy. He forgets about them all, because all he knows and all he thinks of right here and right now is that finally, he has become everything he has always wanted to be; a better man, a hero, a lover, a husband, a father.

He catches her eye when she glances up from the bundle in her arms and he swears that an eternity passes between them. He has never felt so close to her before like he does in this moment. He has never felt such love, such warmth and such belonging before, and for a tiny, split second, it scares him, because now he actually has something to lose. But then he remembers that now he has something to fight for. He remembers that now he has someone to watch grow and someone to help shape to be better than him. And he realizes that it's okay to be afraid and to be scared. It's all okay because once a long time ago he realized loving her was okay, and having this wasn't going to change anything. It would only make him love her more, love them more.

He wonders what it is she is thinking because her eyes are displaying a multitude of emotions that he has never seen before. There's a different kind of vulnerability in her eyes when she stops singing and chooses to look at him too. He sees the warmth in her eyes and the pure and absolute happiness that makes him want to freeze time right there and then so that they could live forever, entirely in this moment.

He realizes now that he just wants to be close to her, not that he emotionally could be any closer because right about now he is pretty sure both their souls are completely intertwined. He nears her without a moment's hesitation and he stretches a hand to her, feeling the warmth of her skin against his fingers and finally the softness of her hand in his. It makes him fall in love with her all over again even though he just did moments ago.

He kneels on the floor beside her bed and he looks up at her like he's always done, but this time differently because he isn't asking her to be something more with him than just his partner and just his lover. This time he's telling her without words what she truly, really is to him. This time he's telling her that above all and everything, everyone that they will ever know or come to know, she will always be the one of whom he will always hold in the highest regard.

It is the most honest, most truthful thing he has ever known in his life and he knows that if anything, she is probably completely blown away by his actions, as she probably has several times already since loving and marrying him. But this time he wants her to know that no matter what, she was always going to have his heart, his soul and his love.

He lifts his other hand to slide and rest gently at the side of her face and he holds her, just right there, stilling the moment to actually look her in the eyes and whisper things to her he's probably already said a million times but this time meaning it more than he ever has in his entire life. He closes his eyes when she kisses him. Her kisses are always gentle, always a contrast from the woman whom stood beside him in the midst of a battle. She's slapped more men than he could ever possibly count and she's killed more than he would ever wish to know. But she's only ever loved him and she's only ever touched him with the gentlest, most loving, intimate touches ever.

He draws back the instant a gurgle interrupts the silence between them. He glances down just as she does too and both together they look. They watch with much curiosity, and love and the simple will to protect always at their little son, lying in her arms staring back at them with wonder in his little hazel eyes. The tufts of soft brown hair reminded him so much of his own sandy brown hair and the little bend of his tiny nose and his little rosy lips reminded him so much of hers. He was perfectly, them, in every way, shape and form and for that he couldn't be happier.

He tries not to think too much about anything else in that moment. But as much as he tries too he knows that tomorrow is a new day. He knows that later on the others will probably come stumbling through the doors bearing gifts and heartfelt congratulations.

He knows that Tony will be poking fun at them and saying how crap they are going to be at being parents. But he also knows that Pepper will have a hand on her own pregnant stomach and the other throwing a soft punch at his shoulder. She will tell Tony to behave because between them all, she is sure that they will do a much better job than Tony and she ever will. He also knows that after that, Steve will congratulate them and then linger mostly around their son probably making a silent vow or two to protect the little 'Black Hawk' as Tony would inevitably nickname their son later too. Then without doubt and much to Tony's grumblings, Bruce will completely ignore them all and carry on his check up on their son to make sure that all his vitals have been properly checked because he knew how doctors were and he wasn't about to let their little son fall victim to a lazy doctor.

But most of all, he also knows that later on, much later after they are all gone and it's late at night and it's just the two of them again, they'll lay there together with their son between them. They'll watch him sleep and watch him stretch every now and then. They'll listen to the sound of his breathing and the sound of his little beating heart. He'll whisper his promises to her somewhere between it all and she'll whisper back that she doesn't need them because between them both they will never, ever let anything happen to each other.

She'll tell him that this, right here and now, is the one thing that intertwines their lives together. It is the thing that connects their dreams and their hopes for the future. Here and now is all that they will ever need to know, to be safe and to return from missions unharmed other than sporting a few bruises or broken bones or both.

Because finally, after everything they have ever done, they actually have it all.


End file.
